The Seahawks still depend on its defense, though they allowed 24 second-half points to the Titans last Sunday — the most a Seahawks team has allowed in 129 total games under coach Pete Carroll.

The good news this week is the Seahawks are home Sunday. Because they’re 3-7-1 on the road since the start of last season, including the playoffs — a far cry from 8-3 in their previous 11 road games before that.

15. Victor Cruz, wide receiver, Giants (NR): The NFL hasn’t seen Cruz do the salsa in a regular-season game in nearly two years, and a good comeback story is always fun to watch. The Giants also have a young potential stud in second-round pick Sterling Shepard waiting to take his place, which makes Cruz’s tale that much more interesting.

16. Josh Norman, cornerback, Redskins (NR): While Norman is merely in the conversation for the title of NFL’s best cornerback, he’s certainly the league’s most entertaining quote. He’s also a self-made player — a former fifth-round pick transformed into a first-team All-Pro — whose shocking exit from the Panthers and high-profile signing by Washington only add to the spice.

30. Richie Incognito, guard, Bills (23): Astonishingly, the NFL’s resident bad boy was able to stay on his best behavior (at least publicly) last season in his first year with Buffalo. But knowing Incognito’s checkered past, another unseemly incident or two is probably lurking just around the corner.
“I’m still in that evaluation process. We’re going to break down every play, every game, from a quarterback standpoint, from an offensive tackle standpoint, linebacker, safety, everybody. And when you’re 7-9, it’s hard to say, ‘Wow, this guy really was outstanding.’ You know, there’s a few guys obviously that jump out. Pro Bowlers like Ryan Kerrigan had a solid year, and obviously Trent [Williams], when he played, was Pro Bowl type, and Brandon [Scherff], when he was healthy, was a Pro Bowl-type guy.

“Kirk had his flashes where he was really good. From a consistent standpoint, over the course of 16 games, we’re 7-9. He did some great things, threw for over 4,000 yards and [27] touchdowns. He’s a very, very good quarterback without a doubt, but as far as getting us over the hump from 7-9 to winning the division with all the injuries we had, he competed and did some good things.”

“Mike’s a very special coach and very special person in my life,’’ Jackson, who worked with Zimmer on the Bengals staff in 2012-13, told reporters this week. “There’s a group of men that I kind of lean on, and Mike being one of them. There is a lot of sometimes 4-in-the-morning calls or midnight calls that we kind of go through things and it keeps me from jumping off the ledge.

“In the discussion that we had, Malcolm conveyed to us — based on discussions that he had with the NFL — that the money would come from funds that are already allocated to breast cancer awareness and Salute to Service,” Reid told Slate.com Thursday. “So it would really be no skin off the owners’ backs: They would just move the money from those programs to this one.”

“I mean, it’s part of the game,” Lue said. “Everyone goes through it, and Tristan is a big part of what we do, so we got to figure out how we got to use him, we got to do that so I have a plan in place and we’ll see how it works.”

Thompson said that playing in three straight NBA Finals has affected the way everyone views the regular season; whatever time he missed pales in comparison to missing a playoff game.

“All you guys care about is what happens in June,” Thompson said.

Fair or unfair, Ryan Leaf embodies the “bust” label. Drafted second-fiddle to Peyton Manning in 1998, Leaf took the opposite trajectory and suffered for the constant comparison. In just 21 games and 18 starts as a Charger, Leaf had a record of 4-14, tossing 13 touchdowns to 33 interceptions. And to make matters worse, Leaf wasn’t even a likeable loser. He had one of those faces, and a flair for tantrums.

Each draft day still serves as a reminder — when the inevitable Leaf profiles, prison interviews and allusions return — that San Diego made a huge mistake. And that stings.

Goodell’s given owners plenty of reasons not to like his disciplinary powers too, taking a star quarterback off the field for footballs that may or may not have been deflated, taking away draft picks for free agent tampering claims, etc.

The Dolphins quarterback has been ruled out for the team’s Week 12 matchup against the Patriots with a concussion, coach Adam Gase announced Friday.

The night started with 58 seconds of silence. It ended with the hockey players wearing the gray sweaters skating around the center circle, sticks raised to acknowledge the home crowd, as “Viva Las Vegas” blared on the T-Mobile Arena speakers.

Paul Richardson, WR, Seattle Seahawks (10.3 percent): What Richardson brings to the table is incredible speed … and more. He is modest in size (6-foot, 183 pounds) but terrific in competitive catch situations. Again, with so many teams on a bye in Week 9, Richardson is a flex option if you are chasing a touchdown or a long reception. He has five touchdowns this season and a 37-yard catch in three games.

Reggie Jackson scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half and Bradley made five 3-pointers for the Pistons, who impressed on the second night of a SoCal-NorCal back-to-back.

Detroit beat the Clippers 95-87 on Saturday to hand Los Angeles its first defeat and leaving no more undefeated NBA teams.

With 11 blocks, Golden State has gone seven straight games with at least seven blocks.

“It comes down to the teams, ultimately, and at this time teams don’t want to sign myself or Kap. That’s just the way it is. It doesn’t mean you stop working or you give up.”

The Detroit Pistons, who are tied atop the East at 5-2, having started a three-game West Coast swing with victories over the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors. The Pistons are getting the kind of playmaking from Reggie Jackson that he was never able to offer last season, and their bench has been surprisingly effective, improbably led by Anthony Tolliver.

The Chiefs prevent Pittsburgh from moving the chains after Roethlisberger throws an incomplete pass on third down. The Steelers will be forced to punt, giving the ball back to Kansas City with 1:59 to play and a chance to take the lead.

Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began the anthem protest in August 2016, is not expected to be among the group of players meeting with league officials.

Kaepernick said he wanted to draw attention to police brutality against people of color and other racial injustices across the country. He gained support from his peers, but remains unsigned since opting out of his contract in March. He filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging owners have colluded to keep him off a team.

Lockhart said Monday he “is not aware of any consideration” of Kaepernick’s grievance to be on Tuesday’s agenda.

That’s because of the excitement that hovers over the Warriors and the special run they’re embracing.

“I think because it’s just so free-flowing,” Green said. “I think the game of basketball kind of first grew in China in streetball. And [our style is] more streetball than you’d normally get in the NBA. So I think that’s why it resonates so much here. I think it also helps that Steph is kind of your everyday-sized guy. Where [fans] kind of get the mindset of, you could be that guy. So I think that also helps as well.”

President Donald Trump has called on NFL owners since last month to fire players who do not stand for the anthem, saying their protest “disrespects the flag” and the country.

A lot more. Pro football will always be a dangerous place, and you didn’t need to watch what happened to Odell Beckham Jr. in the Meadowlands to remember that. But just as the sign in Green Bay’s locker room said, the brain is the body’s most vital organ. The league has to protect it at all costs.

Asked by ESPN.com if he favors a mandatory missed game for concussed players, Packers president Mark Murphy, once a Super Bowl-winning safety for Washington, said: “I think it has to be a medical decision. Just talking to the neurologist, each concussion is different. Players come back differently. I think it has to be a medical decision just like any other injury.”

Green Bay goes three-and-out and takes just 59 seconds off the game clock. The Cowboys will start their drive on their own 11 with a two-point lead and 10:37 remaining.

Field goal Dallas. The Cowboys drive to the Green Bay 25, but fail to score after an incompletion by Prescott on third down. Dan Bailey enters on fourth down and converts on a 43-yard field goal to put Dallas back in front, 24-22.

Touchdown Packers. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Green Bay takes the lead. Rodgers finds Jordy Nelson wide open in the end zone for a 10-yard score as the Packers move in front, 22-21.

He had just beaten the Dallas Cowboys with his second touchdown catch, this one in the back of the end zone in the final seconds of Sunday’s matchup, and Adams was giving reporters a clear-eyed account of the process. Aaron Rodgers had thrown him the same pass on the previous play, a pass that fell incomplete, and the receiver returned to the huddle and told the quarterback to run it again.

The Jaguars will play host to the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Field at 1 p.m. ET Sunday as scheduled, the team and Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry announced Tuesday evening.

Dolphins president Tom Garfinkel tweeted that Hard Rock Stadium has been declared structurally sound, clearing the way for the Dolphins and Hurricanes to play games there.

The Tampa Bay Bucs, after consulting with the NFL and the Tampa Sports Authority, will play Sunday’s game against the Bears at Raymond James Stadium as scheduled.

In addition, owner Shad Khan is donating $1 million to Florida’s First Coast Relief Fund in the wake of Hurricane Irma, which caused massive damage and flooding in the Jacksonville area and across the state. The Jaguars are donating 5,000 tickets to area first responders and residents impacted by the hurricane.

“This is not simply about football,” Curry said. “This is about bringing our city and our community together. This is about getting back to normal operations. Jacksonville was on the way up before this and continues to be on the way up.”

The Chargers have shown some fight on the road in recent seasons with a 10-4 ATS record in their last 14 road games and a 5-2 ATS record in their last seven road games against Denver.

New England enjoys the NFL’s largest average weekly advantage at QB, defined as the difference between Brady’s average Tier figure (1.0) and the averages for New England’s opponents (2.82). It’s tough finding likely defeats on the Patriots’ schedule. I had them going 12-0 before losing back-to-back road games during a six-day stretch as part of a three-game road trip in December.

Second, DraftKings is full PPR scoring, so I also want to pick out running backs who have some involvement in their team’s passing game. Backs that play first and second down but don’t rack up any catches have a much tougher path to reaching value.

He’s a competitor, always going 110 percent. He’s proved why he should be one of the highest-paid tight ends. Every time I lined up against him, he was giving it to me, and I had to make sure I gave it back. His route-running isn’t superb, but he gets open somehow, and he has great hands. He goes up and attacks the ball, not letting it fall into his hands so that a DB can make a play on it.

You played against Dak Prescott in college. Is he legit or a product of a great situation?

He’s definitely gotten smarter coming into the league. He’s always been a great leader and competitor. When I was a junior at Alabama, he took a [Mississippi State] team that was not even on the map and he got them to No. 1 in the rankings. And the same thing happened when he came into the NFL — he almost went undefeated. He has that type of leadership, that background that says “I’m not going to settle.”

It’s almost a foregone conclusion these days that any quality signal caller who gets a contract extension will become the league’s highest-paid player. That happened with Matthew Stafford on Monday, but the state of the current quarterback market means he won’t be the top-paid player for long.

The Rams’ front office — a contingency that includes COO Kevin Demoff, general manager Les Snead and senior assistant Tony Pastoors — flew to Atlanta on Wednesday to meet with Donald’s representatives at CAA but didn’t necessarily come any closer to an agreement. Snead previously said it would “probably be a safe assumption” that Donald needed to report by the end of last week — or at least by Monday — to have much of a chance of playing in the opener.

Donald is no longer subject to the $40,000-a-day fines, but he probably accumulated at least $1.4 million in fines for not showing up throughout the preseason and in training camp. Those fines tend to be picked up by the team on new contracts.

“Guys are ready to go, and we’re getting a plan in place, and the preparation goes on,” McVay said. “Fortunately, we’ve got a bunch of guys that we feel confident in that are ready to step up. Our message continues to remain the same: If he’s here, great. We’ll accept him back with open arms. But in the meantime, we’ve got to get ready to play a football game. And we know the Colts are getting ready as well.”